Tag: Brian Koppelman

From the Trader’s Desk: Sins of The Father – Billions S5 E3 “Beg, Bribe, Bully”

Kings will be crowned, and the word goes around
From father to son, to son
“Father to Son” – Queen

Welcome back to the Trader’s Desk. This week Billions seems to have Daddy issues! I’ll get into that, some observations, and then my thoughts on Axe and his audition for the role of modern day Gorden Gekko!

I think it was fitting that this episode opened with the song “Father and Son” (and a big thank you to Damianista and Gingersnap for educating me on the singer and the song, as I had never heard of it!). We all know that Axe and Chuck have some major Daddy issues, and those were on display this week, along with Axe setting some up for his son Gordie. Also, did anyone else notice the plethora of The Godfather references? Now that’s a movie about Daddy issues! And let’s not even start about the state of Wags’ kids because he was an absent father. This episode should have been shown on Father’s Day! Continue reading “From the Trader’s Desk: Sins of The Father – Billions S5 E3 “Beg, Bribe, Bully””

“From the Trader’s Desk”:
Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED FOR SEASON 5*

**UPDATED FOR SEASON 5**

What metal shirt will Axe reveal in Season 5? I’d love to see (and Gingersnap is with me on this!) an Iron Maiden classic (The Trooper, or Piece of Mind), or Judas Priest. But now we know Axe likes the classic metal bands as well, so it could Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rush or even Rainbow.

Yes, I wrote those words back in December, before we were teased with the Billions trailer and Season 5’s metal shirt was revealed to be none other than Rainbow.  I’ll go into who they are and why Axe would be a fan later in the post.

In each season of Billions, at least one episode has featured a song and a t-shirt of a metal band that must be Axe’s favorites.  (Gingersnap and I are always trying to predict which band will be featured. We’re holding out Season 6 will finally be the year of Maiden!!) The writers of Billions don’t do anything just to do it, so we know that these choices are there to tell a story, shine light on who the character is, and to set a tone. Continue reading ““From the Trader’s Desk”: Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED FOR SEASON 5*”

Billions Season 5 Trailer: Anyone Can Be Bought But No One Can Be Trusted *UPDATED*

Damianista’s note: This article was originally published on March 23. I have been able to extract more juice from Official Trailer #2 and “Top Dog” teaser and updated the post accordingly. ENJOY!

First things first: I hope everyone is doing well and staying home during these surreal times.

My earlier “What to Expect When We are Expecting Billions Season 5” post was based on my own thoughts and a few hints from the first Season 5 teaser trailer. The recently dropped official Season 5 trailer, and a second teaser, while answering a question or two I had, makes me ask hundred more 😀

We all know they edit trailers in a way that they do not give away much but a taste of what is coming. Still, I cannot help dive deep into the trailer, dissect it, try to put the pieces together and ultimately have fun! Speculation rocks until we have Billions back on TV on May 3 9:00PM ET/PT.

So shall we?

Continue reading “Billions Season 5 Trailer: Anyone Can Be Bought But No One Can Be Trusted *UPDATED*”

The Kink of Billions – Chuck

**There will be explicit sexual concepts discussed below**

(Proceed only if you’re OK with that!)

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“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.”-Oscar Wilde

The Billions opening scene is unorthodox and memorable. We find Chuck Rhoades lying on the floor, bound, being tormented by a beautiful brunette whose identity is not revealed. She singes him with her cigarette and then, to soothe the burn, she pisses on him. We learn at the end of the episode that Wendy, Chuck’s wife, is the dominatrix who taunted and tortured Chuck.

It was this unexpected approach to kink that cemented my enthusiasm for the show. During my misspent twenties, a girlfriend of mine had much in common with Mistress Troy (the gorgeous professional dominatrix depicted in the show). Sometimes, my friend would let me watch or even assist in her scenes. I’m an engineer and a scientist, so an anthropological sort of voyeurism came to me very naturally. I was rapt by the exchange of power between the dominatrix and her submissive. I saw quite a few “Chucks” on their knees or hog-tied, because her playmates hewed professional and powerful. It seemed like these men adored the opportunity to check their tendencies towards command and control, preferring instead to submit and serve. Continue reading “The Kink of Billions – Chuck”

An Exclusive Fan Fun Interview with Kelly AuCoin and Stephen Kunken

Last week I had the absolute privilege to conduct a Zoom interview with Kelly AuCoin and Stephen Kunken while they were holed up in New York City, on hiatus from the filming of Season 5 of Billions. In the interview we talked about how they are dealing with the COVID crisis in NYC, which has been at the center of the crisis, as well as how they got their start in Billions, what it’s like working with Damian Lewis, and a certain scene involving a minivan and a Porsche, as well as a host of other topics. While it is hard to tell from just the written word, it was abundantly clear in the interview how much they genuinely care for each other, how much they truly enjoy working with each other, and how much they appreciate working on Billions.  That bromance we see between Dollar Bill and Spyros is not just a creation of the writers (we talked about them, too), but it is a real reflection of the affection and respect these two very talented actors have for each other, the show and their fans.

Continue reading “An Exclusive Fan Fun Interview with Kelly AuCoin and Stephen Kunken”